Sloane Taylor's Blog, page 137

GOALS

If you’re a new writer, undoubtedly you’re positive this is the YEAR. Your year. The year you will sell and prosper. It sure could be, but it’s all up to you.

Have you thought of what you’ll do to make your dream come true? How you are going to make it happen? When, besides sometime this year?

GOALS…BUSINESS PLAN… These are words you need to consider. Sounds good, doesn’t it? But have you decided your goals or written a plan? Don’t panic. Neither has to be on the order of a Fortune 500 company. Keep it simple, something that will work for you.

Today, we will concentrate on goals and save the business plan for a separate lecture.

Is it okay if we use me as an example? You agree? Thanks!

My goals for this year are;

1 - Edit my present book
2 - Write the second book in the series

Each of these works will be 50,000 plus words when completed. Success requires a plan, in my case a written plan, because it is never going to happen if I just sit around and dream. Allow me to share how I approach this mind-numbing task.

I’m a daily to-do list and calendar freak. I like my life plotted and planned. Of course, there has to be room for flexibility. By having an ADJUSTABLE plan I’ve got it made.

To work out a feasible system of accomplishing my two goals, I grabbed a legal pad and the calendar, which already has enough social commitments listed for the year to make me weep, and parked myself in a comfortable chair.

We’ll lay out the schedule for each goal in two separate plans for easier reading.

Goal 1 – Edit my present book

This novel has twenty-four chapters and an epilogue.

All of it has been printed because I work better with a hard copy. I will study each chapter, one at a time, and scrawl notes to myself all over its pages and, when I run out of space, into a spiral notebook. This way, I can easily take a chapter with to pore over while I’m waiting for an appointment, a slow moving train, or anything else which has me sitting and doing zip.

I want this work done in a relatively short period of time, hopefully thirty days. By reading the calendar I know there are many days when editing just isn’t possible. Personal appointments or necessary chores are marked in red. Writing tasks such as blogging, research, characterization, reading trade magazines, and so forth are noted in blue.

The good days have listed a chapter number and a brief note as to what must be done to finish the edits. All Fridays are reserved to re-read that week’s edits and make any changes.

So the calendar looks like the following;

Sunday January 8
No work today. Play with my granddaughters.

Monday January 9
Chapter 3
Bring in tour business somehow / change D’s business purchase to a tax audit? Would it work and simplify?

Tuesday January 10
Chapter 10
T must confess credit card over extended / Move dialogue from pg 89 here

Wednesday January 11
Great sale at Carson’s!! If I finished my work I can reward myself!!!
Dentist at 2
Meet Lor for dinner at 7

Thursday January 12
Jesse here at 8 a.m. for her edits
Pick up C from school 3:15 – take along new RWR
Chapter 20
Embellish sex scene / needs more emotion – switch to hero’s POV

Friday January 13
No time to worry about superstition
Re-read three chapters and approve
Out with the friends at 7

Saturday January 14
No work today. Play with Studly.

Please note the chapters are not in sequence. To finish in my allotted time, I’ve selected the easiest chapters to final edit and saved the more involved for the end of my month. It’s a trick I do to reduce the load while I mentally work out those tough scenes that are driving me crazy.

My daily to-do list will embellish on the above such as;

This is the calendar entry;
Monday January 9
Chapter 3
Bring in tour business somehow / change D’s business purchase to a tax audit? Would it work and simplify

This is the to-do list;
1. read chap as is
2. check POV of D – is it all his?
3. embellish D’s anger through his actions
4. is C a big enough pain in the ass?
5. is the setting over described
6. check out tax audit info to be accurate
7. lunch at 1- no exceptions
8. walk around and do neck exercises in am & afternoon
9. My daily to-do list will embellish on the above such as;

It is very important to treat your goals seriously. You need to work at your writing career with the same diligence as a fulltime job if you truly want to succeed. Let the machine pick up those calls, stay off the internet, eat, drink plenty of fluids preferably water, take scheduled breaks. And above all, have fun.

Have a great weekend. I'll be back Monday with the perfect summer read. Until then...

Happy Writing!

Sloane Taylor

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda and Rice.

June is busting out all over and so will I if I don’t start eating healthier. After a few failed attempts, I’ve finally come up with a nice fish recipe Studs enjoys. I hope you will, too.



Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda
Rice
Tossed salad
White Wine – Riesling or Chardonnay




Tilapia with Citrus Bagna Cauda

3 tilapia filets
1½ tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp.
½ tsp. anchovy paste
2 cloves garlic pressed
1 tbsp. orange juice plus ½ tsp.
1 tbsp. fresh basil if you use dried then 1 tsp.
½ tsp. lemon juice
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Sauce
Preheat oven to 200°F

Heat butter and olive oil in a pan until butter is melted. Add anchovy paste. Stir to dissolve. Add garlic, cook until fragrant about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in orange and lemon juices. Keep warm in preheated oven.

Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover and refrigerate. Warm before using.

Fish
Sprinkle fish with pepper. Brush with remaining olive oil. Fry fish on medium until opaque, about 3 minutes per side. Drizzle sauce over the fish and serve.

Rice
Prepare your favorite brand as the package directs, but replace half the water with chicken broth for more flavor.

Tossed Salad
Lettuce from 2 different types torn into bite size pieces green leaf and head are excellent
Tomatoes sliced
Cucumber peeled and sliced
Green Onions, sliced, be sure to include some of the green
Mushrooms sliced
And anything else that strikes your fancy

Combine everything and toss well. Cover with a damp paper towel, then store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When it's time, toss salad with your favorite dressing. Be careful not to add too much or the lettuce will get soggy. Portion out onto chilled salad plates or chilled bowls and serve.

I'll be back Friday with new writing tips. Until then...

Eat Well!

Sloane Taylor

What Unknowns Lurk in Your Child's School?

Samantha Combs is a Southern California author who enjoys writing YA paranormal romance and supernatural fantasy, along with creating books for the Middle Grade audience.

When Samantha's not writing, she spends time with her husband and two children. Her guilty pleasures include reality television, the Food Network channel and shoes. Samantha truly believes she can accomplish anything if she has the right pair of shoes.

I love writing and I am in awe of the technological advances of our lives. Ereaders and similar gadgets are bringing the written word to a generation that might never have discovered books otherwise and every time I see a kid pick one up to read something it fills me with joy to be a small part of that process. If a child can connect with literature because he or she did so electronically, a connection still was made. I am excited to see what our world has in store for literature and excited to be along for that ride.

THE DETENTION DEMON
Samantha Combs
ISBN 978-1-61937-238-2
Musa Publishing



BUY LINK

A raggedy group of delinquents, thrown together by circumstance, get the opportunity to prove if rumors about the detention teacher being less than human are true and discover it doesn’t take years of friendship to bond together and overcome evil.

BLURB:
Wayne is a Junior High school boy who just got detention for fighting in school to protect his longtime best friend, Gumby. But recently, there have been stories about detention. Kids have mysteriously disappeared, creating creepy rumors about detention class. Now, Wayne finds himself trapped in there with school bully Bubba Dugan. Keeping his distance from Bubba won’t be Wayne’s only problem. In fact, those rumors about the detention teacher don’t seem like stories at all.

With his best friend Gumby, a crew of delinquents and a surprising late addition, a pretty cheerleader harboring a secret crush, Wayne and his group of misfits will have to band together to outwit the detention teacher. He’s protected his best friend from harm his whole life…..but, can he protect him and everyone else against something that might not even be human?

EXCERPT:
If Mr. Levi was scary and intimidating in the stories circulating around the schoolyard, I decided right then and there, it was justifiably so. He was probably the freakiest person I had ever seen in my life. Oh, he was dressed normal enough in brown corduroy pants and loafers, and a regular white button down shirt with some kind of funky vest over it—the same outfit half the male teachers in school wore. He wasn’t too tall, he didn’t look like he worked out, and he had short hair with a big bald spot like one of my mom’s old boyfriend’s on top. Everything seemed reasonable and ordinary until you got to the face. Here was where we took a sharp turn out of Normalville and screamed headlong into Freak Town. Mr. Levi’s face featured a long, hooked nose, barely a slash of a mouth and his eyes were sunken back in their sockets. They didn’t have any color to them. They were actually black; so black that I had to look hard to make sure there were any eyes in the sockets at all. I don’t know how long I stood there looking at him because suddenly his papery thin eyelids closed and opened over those black, sunken holes, and the thin red slash parted and Mr. Levi spoke his first words to Gumby and me.

“You must be Marsh and Spencer.” The raspy, crunchy quality of his voice reminded me of the sound the piles of dried leaves make when I rake them in November in the front yard, all brittle and breakable. I could see cracks in the corners of his lips, like he hadn’t spoken for a long time. Next to me I felt Gumby trembling, but I wasn’t about to give this creep the satisfaction. I’d promised my mom I was just going to do my time and be out of here, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

BUY LINK

Connect with Samantha Combs on her Fan Page , blog and Twitter . You're always welcome to email Samantha.

I'll be back Wednesday with a new menu. Until then...

Happy Reading!

Sloane Taylor

Counting Sunrises

by my good friend SS Hampton, Sr. is on the Penumbra E-Magazine blog . Hampton talks about Ray Bradbury and Vincent Price and the deep-rooted effect these late, great gentlemen had on his life. Please stop in and say "HI".

I'll be back Monday with awesome YA author Samantha Combs. Until then...

Have a great weekend!

Sloane Taylor

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

Let’s go Italian with a fast and easy menu perfect for busy weekends. This is fun to make and sure to please every member of your family.

Pizza Casserole
Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
Orange Granite – Flavored Ice
Dry White Wine – Pinot Grigio
or
Cold Peroni Beer

Pizza Casserole
1 lb. Italian sausage
1 tube Pillsbury pizza dough
1 6oz. can tomato paste
6 oz. water
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. oregano divided
1 tbsp. basil
1 tsp. sugar
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 oz. mozzarella cheese grated
Olive oil to drizzle

Preheat oven to 425°.

Discard casing. Break sausage into chunks. Sauté over medium high heat until the meat is no longer pink, about 15 minutes.

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Spread the pizza dough into the pan.

Combine tomato paste, water, garlic powder, oregano, basil, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir well. Pour onto the dough and spread to the edges.

Place sausage on sauce. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Scatter mozzarella cheese over casserole, then sprinkle with oregano. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Cut in squares and serve.

Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
Red leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Head lettuce
Tomato chunks

Plan two leaves of each type lettuce and half a tomato per person. Combine in a bowl. Cover with a damp paper and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Creamy Garlic Dressing
1 ½ cups mayonnaise – it must be real mayo, not Miracle Whip
½ cup vegetable oil
Scant ¼ cup white vinegar
3 tbsp. chopped onion
¾ tsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 big gloves garlic pressed

Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Mix on high until smooth.

Keeps two week in refrigerator. Store on bottom shelf.

To serve either toss with your salad or arrange the salad on individual chilled plates and ladle a dollop on top.

Orange Granite – Flavored Ice
2 cups water
¾ cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
3 tbsp. lemon juice

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Stir only until the sugar dissolves. Timing from the moment the sugar water begins to boil, cook the mixture for exactly 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, stir the orange and lemon juices into the syrup. Pour mixture into a shallow metal pan.

Freeze the granite for 3 to 4 hours. Every 30 minutes, stir and scrape in the ice particles that form on the sides of the pan. The granite should be a fine, snowy texture. For a coarser texture, which I prefer, freeze the flavored syrup in ice cube trays until solid, then drop cubes into a plastic bag and smash with a heavy wooden spoon or mallet.

I'll be back Friday with new writing tips. Until then...

Mangiar Bene!

Sloane Taylor

Children Are the Keys to Our Future

And now, children are the only hope for our past.

Sharon Ledwith is a brand new, uber talented author you definitely want to read. Her writing is YA, but this old lady enjoyed The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis and can't wait for the next book in the series.

BLURB:
When Amanda Sault and her four classmates are caught in a major food fight at school, they are given the choice of suspension or yard duty. It was a no-brainer. A two-week crash course in landscaping leads the kids to discover a weathered stone arch buried in an overgrown backyard. Instead of a forgotten lawn ornament, it turns out to be an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis. Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers—legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from an evil force—the five children, along with two offbeat adults, are sent on the adventure of their lives to save the Earth from an uncertain future. The Timekeepers’ first mission lands them in England in 1214, where they must find an adolescent Robin Hood and his band of merry teens before history is turned upside-down.

EXCERPT:
Amanda Sault silently studied the words she just scrawled: May 1st, 1214—Games and songs and revelry, act as the cloak of devilry. So that an English legend may give to the poor, we must travel to Nottingham to even the score.

She frowned. She was the Scribe. Amanda knew that meant she was supposed to understand what this riddle meant. But she didn’t have a clue. All she knew was that she, her four annoying classmates, and two offbeat adults were standing in what was left of the lost continent of Atlantis and they were supposed to be the Timekeepers, the legendary time travelers handpicked by destiny to keep Earth’s history safe from evil. But no one had told them how they were supposed to do it.

Their problem: no matter what happened—good or bad—they weren’t supposed to mess with the past. Period. Dot. End of story. Amanda felt hot liquid build in her throat. Her thumb traced the words of the arcane riddle. Their first Timekeeper mission. Amanda knew this wasn’t the end of the story.

This was just the beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sharon Ledwith is the author of the middle-grade/YA time travel series, The Last Timekeepers. Book one, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, debuted May 18 from Musa Publishing. To read more about the book, or purchase, please click HERE . Keep up with Amanda and the world of The Last Timekeepers series on Facebook .

When not writing or digging up the past, Sharon enjoys reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. She lives in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat.

Visit Sharon on her blog and Facebook . She is only a tweet away. Feel Free to click HERE .

He Said, She Said

Let's talk dialogue. Editors love dialogue. It provides the "white space" they like in books. Readers like dialogue. It moves the story along at a faster pace. You, the author, need to master writing dialogue. Let’s try and make it easy for you with two important factors.

First - TAGS

He said, she said, they all said, are dialogue tags.

Many writers wax poetic with; he replied angrily, she screamed out the words, they hissed their answer as one. After you yank your finger out of your throat consider why these three examples are bad.

He replied angrily.
"Replied" is fine, if you must have a tag, but "angrily" is overkill. Your dialogue must show, not tell, the character’s anger. "Add actions to emphasize instead of adverbs" is a good rule to tape to your monitor.

Once in awhile it may be necessary to add an adverb. Hester Kaplan wrote in a prize winning short story:
“Cold as hell in New York," she said hoarsely, as though clots of snow were lodged in her throat.
In this case “hoarsely” is important to the reader or they would be confused over a person choking on clots of snow.

She screamed out the words.
Over the top. If your character has to scream, then so be it, but it’s unnecessary to add “out the words”. Because what the hell else is she going to scream – sausages? Again, your verbs in the dialogue should be strong enough to show, not tell, the reader the character is screaming. If your lady is screaming, the chick is full of rage. Show it with something like this: She fisted her shaking hands, failing to hold them stiff at her side. Purple blotches swelled across her face as she spit out the cruel words.

They hissed their answer.
Snakes hiss, people generally don’t. Write your dialogue to show their anger or do it with an action.

Every sentence of dialogue by a different character doesn’t need a tag line. If you have two people talking the occasional “said” is sufficient. But if you use an action after the line of dialogue then drop the “said”.

“Your perfume is very unusual.” He sniffed at her neck.
“Thank you. It’s my favorite.”
“It reminds me of something, but I can’t quite name it.”
“Rosemary?”
He snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”

Nary a he or she said added and you know who is talking.

A few more tag will be required when you have a group in conversation. It will also be necessary to add the character’s name.

“Your perfume is very unusual.” Max sniffed at her neck.
“Thank you. It’s my favorite.” Eva smiled at what she hoped was a compliment.
“It reminds me of something, but I can’t quite name it.”
“Rosemary?” asked Ron.
Max snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”

Second - VOICE

This one is simple. Every character in your story has a different voice. The way they say things are exclusive to them due to their age, education, occupation, and all the other facets that make them be who they are. Be true to that character and write the dialogue as if they were really speaking it. Make it easy on yourself and envision the character, then say their dialogue out loud. You will automatically use the phrases unique to them.

Now that you have the idea, go though your manuscript in hard copy. Read the dialogue aloud or, better yet, have a friend read it. Then ask yourself these questions;

• Does it seem stilted, unnatural?
• Is that character’s dialogue true to them or do they all sound alike?
• Have you over dramatized the tag lines?
• Is the dialogue too long?
• Boring?
• Important enough to move your story along?

It only takes a short time to do the above and make your manuscript more attractive to an editor and reader.

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back Monday with debut author Sharon Ledwith. Until then...

Happy Writing!

Sloane Taylor

It's Wednesday. So What's Cooking?

Sloppy Joes and More Easy Goodies

It’s that time of year to be outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and dining al fresco. The menu below can be prepared on your stove, or better yet, give your grill a good workout. Gas grill directions are noted with **.

Sloppy Joes
Baked Beans
Sweet Corn on the Grill
Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes
Crusty buns
Rose Wine or Cold Beer

Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
½ medium onion chopped fine
1 celery rib chopped fine
3 tbsp. dried mustard
½ tbsp. molasses
3 tbsp. ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup chicken stock – plus more if required
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in a medium sized frying pan. Be sure to break up any chunks. Add onion and celery. Continue to fry until beef is nicely browned. Drain in a colander.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients to taste, then add the beef and vegetables. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Monitor closely and add more chicken stock if sauce gets dry.

**It’s easy to cook Sloppy Joes on the grill. Follow the recipe above, just be sure to use heavy pans and stir frequently.

Serve on crusty buns.

Baked Beans
1 small can Bush’s Honey Baked Beans
1 small can Bush’s Homestyle Baked Beans
2 tbsp. dried mustard
2 tbsp. maple syrup - optional
2 strips bacon

Preheat oven to 325°.

Pour beans into a metal loaf pan or oven safe dish. Stir in mustard and syrup. Lay bacon strips on top. Bake in the center of the oven 45 minutes or until desired consistency.

**Set grill temperature to medium. Only use a metal pan if you cook the beans on the grill. Prepare as above, then place pan on top rack. Cook about 25 minutes or until desired consistency.

To serve – discard bacon.

Sweet Corn on the Grill
1 ear fresh corn per person – do not remove husk
Water
Butter or margarine
Salt

Pour cool water into a container large enough to hold the sweet corn. Soak corn still in its husk at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 hours.

Set grill on medium high. Remove corn from the water and lay the ears on the grill. Roast until the husk is brown on that side, then turn and repeat the process. Total cooking time is about 20 – 25 minutes.

To serve - peel back the husks. Roll the ears in butter or margarine, then sprinkle on a touch of salt, and enjoy!

Snazzy Sliced Tomatoes
1 tomato per two people
Red wine vinegar
Garlic powder or fresh garlic minced
Fresh or dried chives

Prepare this dish about an hour or so before serving.

Slice tomatoes ½” thick and arrange on a serving plate.

Drizzle vinegar over the tomatoes, then dust with garlic powder or fresh garlic. Sprinkle plenty of chives across the top.

Set on the counter away from sun or heat to flavor through.

As always, I'm happy to have your input. Please feel free to comment.

Sloane Taylor

Since I'm majorly challenged when it comes to computers, ...

Since I'm majorly challenged when it comes to computers, this is an experiment to have my cover available for blogging. Wish me well.:)

On This Memorial Day Weekend

To celebrate the USA Armed Forces, Musa Publishing is offering a free copy of Penumbra eMag to every service person in the States and overseas.


Please go to Penumbra eMag to send the free PDF and for your opportunity to win a copy of the Love Notes anthology.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Sloane Taylor